Pursuing Miss Introvert

Chapter 13. Woke Up Like This

Theo stumbled to the ground as Laurence pushed him away from Amelia, catching him off guard by the sudden assault.

"What the f**k!"

Laurence cursed, steadying Amelia who clearly had too much to drink to be able to stand straight.

"Who are you?"

He turned to Theo who was now looking ready to punch him.

"Who ARE you?"

Theo countered, positioning himself to get Milly back from the stranger who interfered with them.

"I'm obviously a friend, you moron!"

He cursed back at Laurence who was holding Amelia by the shoulders.

"How will I know she knows you?"

Laurence blurted back.

His patience was running low with the guy.

"Dude, we've been together the last four hours!"

Theo held her arm tightly.

"I'm about to send her home before you barged in like a moron!"

Laurence gritted his teeth.

If he wasn't holding Amelia, he would've punched the hell out of that guy.

Laurence placed his hand on her back and tilted her head up to see how she was.

Amelia finally opened her eyes and blinked several times, before recognition dawned on her face.

"Hey..."

She pointed her fingers at his face, looking somber and unfocused.

"Hey... I know you."

Milly smiled at him sweetly, oblivious to her current predicament.

"You're... Laurence... you're a... a piece of w-work!"

Laurence let out a frustrated sigh.

How could she be in that state? Did Ryan know she went out to go drinking?

"Milly, do you know this guy?"

Theo interjected, grabbing her attention to him standing on the side, still holding her right arm.

"Theo!"

Milly exclaimed, partially confused why he was there.

"Oh, this guy..."

She was feeling extremely sleepy now, and would love to just rest her head for a while.

"Um, he's... my cousin...Fri-"

Laurence didn't allow her to finish talking anymore, he knew she was half asleep already and the night was cold, her clothing barely qualified to give her any warmth in that weather.

Pulling her body close to his, he scooped her up in her arms and turned to his pick-up, but Theo grabbed his arm.

"Where do you think you're going with her?"

Theo cautioned, his voice laced with warning.

"I'm taking her home, buddy."

Laurence held his gaze head-on, his protective instinct kicking in.

There was no way he would just leave her with this guy, no matter what their relationship was.

"You heard her, I know her more than you know each other from the looks of it."

Laurence gritted his teeth, annoyed with the guy's obvious interest in her.

Unconcerned about Theo's reaction at all, Laurence opened the front seat and gently put her down, adjusting it so she could rest her back comfortably, before securing the seat belt around her.

"I'm following you from behind."

Theo warned him as he hailed a cab coming from the intersection.

Laurence looked him in the eye for a moment before closing the door of his pick-up.

"Suit yourself."

He climbed in the driver's seat and after checking she was good, he stepped on the gas to put some distance away from that bar.

Only when she was securely by his side did Laurence let out a calming sigh. He was already feeling cranky from his headache earlier, then that Theo guy acted like he had every right to just touch and hold her, it made his blood boil.

Glancing at her, he couldn't imagine anything else that could have happened if he didn't see her outside the bar. Why was she there anyway? As introverted as she was according to Ryan, it was unlikely for her to go clubbing on her own, not to mention allow a guy she didn't know to escort her.

Laurence contemplated on what to do, it was already midnight. Should he send her home in that state? Would Ryan expect her to go home drunk at all? Did her aunt know?

Massaging his temples, Laurence grabbed his tumbler on the side and drank his fill, hoping the water would help ease the tension he felt on his neck. Letting out a sigh, he dialed Ryan's number.

Milly stretched her body candidly under the sheets. Her limbs felt so heavy and exhausted, and her head felt like it would split in half from the headache. Her mind said she should get up, but her body was as heavy as a log, she could barely lift her back. Moaning in discomfort, she turned to her side and hugged the pillow next to her, while kicking the covers away.

Eyes still closed, she had a sense that it was already bright outside, the light coming in from the slits of the curtains on the side of the wall. But even in her groggy state, the silence and the coolness of the room lulled her back to sleep.

It was almost eleven a.m. when Amelia finally stirred awake again. Spreading her arms and legs in a fetal position, she let out a sigh and tried to relax her muscles.

God, she was stinky as hell.

"I'm never going with Claire, ever again..."

She muttered, forcing herself to sit up in bed.

Throwing the covers away, she opened her eyes and instantly felt the fear creep up her heart when she realized it wasn't her room.

None of the things she saw in the bedroom were hers. It most definitely looked like a man's room!

Clutching her chest, she slowly slid her legs off the bed and froze in shock.

She was naked!

Half-naked!

Well, not really. She had clothes on, not much, but still decent enough to cover her body except for everything down her thighs. The problem was, it wasn't her shirt she was wearing.

Amelia let out a nervous breath.

Okay, assess! She commanded her brain to remember what transpired after she belatedly waved goodbye to Claire who was on the dance floor with the rest of the girls at their table.

What happened next?

Ugh. This headache was killing her. Milly closed her eyes for a second and scanned the room. There was a glass of water by the bedside table, but with her current situation, she couldn't trust even a single drop of it until she was sure it was safe from any drugs.

Steadying herself, she braved checking if there was anyone in the bathroom.

No one.

By the looks of it, whoever owned the place was a pretty neat person s***h guy. Of course, it didn't look perfectly organized, but the bathroom was clean and so did the room itself, except for a couple of pieces of shirts hanging by the lone chair. They looked like someone just threw them away there in haste.

She grabbed the opportunity to relieve herself in the bathroom and washed her face. Other than the headache, her body felt okay, intact, even. Amelia bit her lip at the possibility that she was with a guy the previous night.

God, no.

She couldn't have allowed that to happen.

No, no!

Splashing water on her face, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. No signs of abuse or anything on her skin and neck. That calmed her down a bit. In the back of her mind, she was hoping that maybe Claire was with her and in the other room or something. Amelia gurgled tap water from the sink several times before deciding that if she wanted to get out of there, she needed to do it now, and not later.

Gathering her courage, she proceeded as silently as possible to the door and twisted it open.